Category Archives: People

St. Georges Road

Leave a reply

Road that runs south easterly from Cedars Avenue to Tamworth Park. Houses are numbered even from 2 to 68 on the south western side, and odd from 1 to 73 on its north eastern side. Even numbers have the postcode CR4 1EB and odd have CR4 1ED,

Contents
Occupants in street directories
Electoral Registers
Photos
News articles

According to Eric Montague on page 95 of his book
Mitcham Histories: 3 Pollards Hill, Commonside East and Lonesome, the houses, with their distinctive Courtrai du Nord interlocking tiles, were built by the Tamworth Park Construction Co., whose managing director, Joseph Owen, lived at the house called Pentlands at the eastern end of St Georges Road.

Pentlands is shown in this map of 1910, and is named in earlier street directories. It was used by the Surrey County Council from 1937 to 1983 as a remand home, and, after it closed, the building was demolished, and houses were built on the site. Planning application MER175/84 was approved 19th April 1984 for the construction of 14 two storey, 3 bedroom houses with car parking.

1910 OS map

This OS map from 1953 also shows the Surrey County Council Pentlands Remand Home.

1953 OS map

>Occupants from Street Directories

Not mentioned in the 1891 directory, but is in the 1896. All entries are listed in the direction from Cedars Avenue to Tamworth Park.

1896 and 1898

WEST SIDE

Northolme, George Rupert UPTON
St. George’s, William WALFORD

1904

WEST SIDE

Northolme, George Rupert UPTON
Glenard, Thomas H. STOUT
Pentlands, James ANNAN

1912

WEST SIDE

Northolme, George Rupert Thomas UPTON
Pentlands, James ANNAN

1915

WEST SIDE

Northolme, George Rupert Thomas UPTON
Pentlands, James ANNAN

1925

SOUTH-WEST SIDE

Northolme, George R. UPTON
Wynberg , Captain Louis Alfred BROOKE-SMITH, R.D., R.N.R. (retired)
Pentlands, Mrs. ANNAN

Electoral Registers

1920

Northolme, George Rupert Thomas UPTON and Margaret Harriett UPTON, and Alan Cuthbert Waylen UPTON
Pentlands, James Ernest ANNAN and Jane Grieg ANNAN

1921 and 1922

Northolme, George Rupert Thomas UPTON and Margaret Harriett UPTON, and Alan Cuthbert Waylen UPTON
Pentlands, James Ernest ANNAN and Jane Grieg ANNAN
Wynberg, Louis Alfred Brooke SMITH and Margaret Frances SMITH

1927

Northolme, George Rupert Thomas UPTON and Margaret Harriett UPTON
Pentlands, Joseph OWEN and Susannah OWEN

Photos

This postcard of 1908 is addressed to a Miss Wheatley of Glenard, the second house from the Cedars Avenue end as shown on the 1910 OS map.

1908 postcard, from the Facebook Mitcham History group

1927 photo on Merton Memories.

World War 1 Connection

2nd Lieutenant Ralph Hamon Weeley UPTON

Newspaper articles

From the Mitcham and Tooting Mercury, 11th May, 1917, page 4:

MITCHAM OFFICER KILLED

Lieut. R. Upton

We regret to learn, just before going to press, that Lieut. R. Upton, younger son of Mr and Mrs Rupert Upton, of “Northolme,” has been killed in action in France. General sympathy will be expressed with Mr Upton, who is Inspector of the Mitcham Special Constabulary, and Mrs Upton in their great loss.

His name is on the west side of the Mitcham War Memorial as UPTON. R.H.W.

Earlist newspaper article found is from the Morning Post – Monday 7th January 1895:

UPTON. — On the 4th inst., at Northolme, Commonside, Mitcham, the wife of G.R.T. Upton, barrister-at-law, of a son.

Maps are reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland.

St Peter & St Paul Roman Catholic Primary School

Leave a reply

School whose address is Cricket Green, Mitcham, CR4 4LA. Its entrance from that road is between the Mary Tate Almshouses and number 40.

1954 OS map

The road had previously been called Lower Green East until 1944, when it was renamed Cricket Green.

According to 1 The Cricket Green, page 113 :

The Roman Catholic primary school St Peter and St Paul was rebuilt in 1974, replacing the original chapel school building erected in 1861 on land given by William Simpson Jr.

This OS map from 1910 shows the outline of the school building, its entrance being between the Almshouses and the Britannia pub shown as P.H.

1910 OS map

Kelly and Post Office directories from the late 19th and early 20th centuries state that the school was probably built around 1867, for 80 children. It’s worth noting that the Catholic church was built later than the school, in 1889. The directory of 1912 said that the school was enlarged in 1897, for 148 children, and had an average attendance of 123. The 1912 directory said that the school was enlarged again in 1908 for 180 children. Also in that directory was a list of the six school managers, and their clerk:

James Douglas DREWETT, Ravensbury, Upper Green, Mitcham
Bernard HAYWARD, Post office, London Road, Mitcham
Rev. Bernard W. KELLY, St. Anthony’s Hospital, London Road, North Cheam
Berrill Henry MAGUIRE, The Beeches, London Road, Lower Mitcham
Rev. Joshua POOLEY, The Presbytery, Cranmer Road, Mitcham
William F. J. SIMPSON, Park place, Commonside West, Mitcham

Clerk to Managers, William James DICKISSON, Trent House, 87 Melrose Avenue, Mitcham

The directories also gave the head mistress in charge of the school, as shown in this table, where the years are the directory entries.

YEARS Name
1874 and 1878 Miss Mary A. PARKS
1880 Miss Mary CONWAY
1891 Miss Mary Ann RIGBY
1896 Miss Elizabeth BRYCE
1898, 1901 and 1902 Miss DAWSON
1911, 1912, 1913 and 1915 Miss Annie DERHAM
1918 Miss Elizabeth DAVEY

Miss Davey started teaching in 1887, according to this news article from 1933 which reported on her retiring from head mistress.

A WORTHY TEACHER

Miss Davey, the esteemed head mistress of Mitcham Catholic Day School, is retiring to well-merited leisure after 46 years of teaching. She has put the best years and the best efforts of her life into this school, and she has the consolation of knowing that she has not spent herself in vain. When she leaves at the end of February she will take with her the united good wishes of the priest, the parents, and the children for her devoted service.

From the Mitcham News & Mercury, 6th January, 1933, page 1.

The name of the school in the directories was either the Lower Mitcham Catholic School, or the Mitcham Catholic Day School as in the 1933 news item.

Listed in the 1971 phone book as S.S. Peter & Paul R.C. Primary, Cricket Green, telephone 01-648 1459.

Merton Memories Photos

Catholic chapel that was demolished when school was rebuilt in 1974
1970 school playground
undated colour photo of school from Cricket Green

Eric Montague Slides
A 1966 photo of the Sheila Shaw horse riding school, at number 40 next door to the Catholic school, shows part of the entrance and its notice board, that is headed ‘Ss Peter & Paul’s Catholic School’.

Maps are reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland.